Elephants at Elephant Meadow

At Parambikulam , a huge boulder rests on the fringe of a meadow. This boulder is so big that according to tribals, even elephants run their bodies and feet on the boulder to remove dirt or pests. Due to this boulder, the meadow earned its name Annakalvayal meaning Elephant meadow. Annakalvayal is a sure shot place for the public to see wild elephants. We came upon this group of elephants at annakalvayal. There were 4 adult females, 4 young ones and one sub adult in this herd. As soon as the elephants sighted us, they herded the young ones under their feet and formed a circle,
protecting their young ones from us. After their instinctive reaction, they slowly relaxed and continued their grazing while now and then trumpeting at us. Seeing us approaching a little too close to its young, the female on the right extreme started trumpeting loudly and slowly started approaching us. Sensing its mother leaving its side, the kid gently restrained its mother by holding on to her foot by its trunk. Such a beautiful and tender sight. I was closest to the mother and was snapping at her while I saw the kid restraining. I had to back off and still shoot and hence due to the movement this shot became a little blurred. Still it portrays a very tender sight and one worth posting.

Finding us not moving, the herd broke up and the youngest ones with two females left the meadow and moved to the thickets surrounding the meadow. There they stayed for another 10 minutes, before we were herded away by our guide. His reasoning being that the adult elephants were getting irritated and it might not be too pleasant for us to stay there any longer. These people somehow have a knack for sensing the mood and are seldom wrong. But in this instance I believe that all of us felt the same and were quite satisfied with having spent a few quiet moments with these giants.

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